Ohio Valley Conference

MARION, Ill. - Jackson Wells threw a complete game with eight strikeouts and Zach Henry had four hits, drove in five runs and blew open Wednesday's game with a three-run homer as Little Rock stunned Southern Indiana, 10-1, in the opening game of the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Championship, presented by SERVPRO.
 
The eight-seed Trojans (20-32) got behind their ace with a six-run second inning, and added runs in the fourth and sixth, plus a pair in the seventh. Wells threw 129 pitches, scattered six hits and surrendered just a single run – a solo home run – in the seventh. The five-seed Screaming Eagles (27-29) never recovered after the big second inning by the Trojans. USI pulled its starter after just 1.1 innings and committed four errors in the field.
 
Little Rock will return to the field this afternoon for a faceoff with four-seed SEMO (30-24) at approximately 4 pm. The winner advances to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, while the loser is eliminated.
 
The Trojans loaded the bags in the second before breaking through on Reed Willbanks' double down the left field line to make it 2-0. Alex Seguine followed with a bunt single that scored another run, and Henry blasted a shot to right center, doubling the lead to 6-0. He added another run in the fourth on a single to right, then another in the sixth on another single into right for an 8-0 advantage.
 
Kade Goeke made it 10-0 in the seventh, reaching safely on an error that allowed Cooper Chaplain and Cade Martin to cross. Seguine finished with two hits and scored three times, Chaplain had two hits and two runs, and Martin scored twice. Angel Cano dropped down a pair of crucial sacrifice bunts to help the Trojan offense.

#6 LINDENWOOD 6, #7 UT MARTIN 5
MARION, Ill. - Lindenwood baseball (28-28) earned their first ever Ohio Valley Conference Championships win during the first round of the tournament on Wednesday over #7 UT Martin (20-34) by a final score of 6-5. The Lions trailed by as many as four runs heading into the fourth inning, but the Lions scored three in the seventh to secure the win.

Newell started the game for the Lions tossing a six hit first inning keeping the Skyhawks at bay. UT Martin broke the scoring open in the top of the second inning after posting three runs off of Newell. After a single and a error by Lindenwood, the Skyhawks scored on a sac fly to right field. Newell would allow a double, single and triple through the next three at-bats plating two runs to put UTM up 3-0.

After a scoreless third inning, UT Martin added one more run in the top of the fourth inning. Garner Anderson started the inning off with a deep triple to left center and was brought home with a single up the middle. Lindenwood got out of the inning with a force-out at second, but the Skyhawks still led 4-0.

Lindenwood's bats went to work in the bottom of the fourth scoring three runs on four hits to cut it to a one-run ball game. After singles by Charlie Isom-McCall and Jake Radosevich, Grunberg delivered a two-RBI triple to deep left center field to plate the first two runs of the game for the Lions. Arnette then delivered a bloop single into left field scoring Grunberg from third.

An error in the fifth inning but Lindenwood scored another run from third base giving the Skyhawks a two-run lead. Both teams would post scoreless innings in the sixth as the Lions looked to make a late comeback. Rakers, who earned his first win of the season on Wednesday, came in for Newell in the seventh.

After the seventh inning stretch, Lindenwood's offense went to work taking their first lead of the ball game after scoring three runs. With runners at second and third, pinch-hitter Simpson stepped up for the Lions delivering a single into left field scoring a run. Kam Edwards then tied the game with another RBI into left field before Radosevich put the Lions ahead with a sac fly into right field as the Lions took the lead 6-5.

#8 LITTLE ROCK 9, #4 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7
MARION, Ill. - For the second time Wednesday, Little Rock jumped out to a sizeable lead during the opening day of the 2025 Ohio Valley Baseball Championship. But this time, the Trojans had to hold off their opposition in the final innings of a 9-7 elimination game victory over Southeast Missouri at Mountain Dew Park.
 
Little Rock became the first 8-seed to advance past the single elimination portion of the tournament since the OVC adopted the current format in 2022. The Trojans will be one of four remaining teams when they face regular season champion Eastern Illinois on Thursday at 11 am.
 
Four different players drove in a pair of runs and five had a pair of hits as the Trojans (21-32) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one frame and 9-4 after seven before holding off the charging Redhawks (30-25) over the final two innings. After sweeping the Trojans in a conference series less than a week ago, the defending tournament champions saw their season come to an abrupt end.
 
Little Rock put up a 5-spot in the first inning thanks to an RBI from Zach Henry, then two-run homers from both Ty Rhoades and Cooper Chaplain. SEMO got on the board with a long ball in the third to make it 5-2, but the Trojans responded with another RBI from Henry in the fourth and a run-scoring single from Kade Goeke in the fifth for a 7-2 advantage.
 
SEMO got two runs in the fifth to get within 7-4 before the Trojans posted a pair in the seventh on an RBI by Goeke and a fielder's choice by Reed Willbanks. The Redhawks put together three runs in the eighth but left two runners stranded in the ninth.
 
Jack Cline got the win, tossing five strong innings with four strikeouts and allowing just four hits and four runs. Hunter Royal pitched two innings of relief and Blake Van Cleve got the final six outs to pick up the save. Rhoades finished with two hits and two RBIs, as did Chaplain, who also scored twice. Goeke also had two hits, two RBIs and reached base four times while stealing a base.

#6 LINDENWOOD 9, #3 TENNESSEE TECH 1
MARION, Ill. - Lindenwood baseball (29-28) continue their first post-season Ohio Valley Conference Championships run with a 9-1 win over #3 Tennessee Tech (37-20) to end Wednesday's action at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Ill. The Lions' offense exploded for three home runs in the win as they now advance to the double elimination portion of the bracket.

After the Lions left the bases loaded in the first inning, their bats responded with four runs in the second. Mitch Cummins led off the inning with a walk and was brought over to third with a stolen base and a groundout. Evan Funkhouser delivered with an RBI single into left field to put the Lions on the board. He would later score on a throwing error by Tennessee Tech.

With two outs in the inning, Charlie Isom-McCall singled up the middle and was brought home by Radosevich with an RBI single to short. Grunberg capped off the inning with a deep drive to left field with an RBI double as the Lions led 4-0 after two.

Lindenwood would bring out the long ball over the next two innings including a solo home run from catcher Short in the third inning. Grunberg would continue his impressive day with a three-run shot in the fourth inning to put the Lions ahead 8-0. After his team-high 13th home run, Grunberg is now one short of tying the Lindenwood record for home runs in a single season at 14 (NCAA era).

Edwards capped off a 10 hit night for the Lions with a solo home run to right center field putting the Lions ahead 9-0 in the seventh inning. It marked the 10th time this season the Lions have had at least three home runs in a single game and their first time since April 18th at SEMO.

Smith picked up his fourth win of the season on the mound after an impressive showing. The starting pitcher for the Lions did not allow a single hit until the fourth inning and his only run was in the seventh with a solo home run. His six strikeouts were the second most of the season and his 7.2 innings of work were tied for his most this season.